What you need to know about the Formula 1 British Grand Prix

The oldest Grand Prix in the championship

The British Grand Prix is part of the foundation of the calendar. This race has been held there every year since the creation of the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship in 1950. In 2023, we are celebrating the 74th running of this race.

Formula 1 was born in England and it is on this island that the history of this sport was forged. The English have a multitude of circuits, and many teams are based in this country. Not far from there, we find the Austrian team Red Bull Racing, which has its headquarters in Milton Keynes.

Moreover, Mercedes F1 has its headquarters in Brackley and Alpine retains a significant F1 division in Enstone, which for the French team is the technical headquarters that develops the chassis. Silverstone, where the current race is taking place, is also the headquarters of the Aston Martin team. Haas has its assembly plant in England as well, just like AlphaTauri, which is in the process of merging with the Red Bull factory (although the team will keep its facilities in Italy). Williams, of course, is also based in England, along with McLaren, which were both born in the UK. The only teams that are 100% located on the continent are Ferrari and Alfa Romeo Sauber.

This race is with the Italian Grand Prix, the only one to have participated in all the rounds of the calendar since 1950, which is 73. France, Belgium, Germany, and Monaco are cornerstone destinations for F1, but they have all experienced interruptions despite a minimum total of over 62 editions for each of them.

A quick layout, located on a military air base

Put into service for the needs of the Second World War, this base lost its usefulness at the end of this global event. This is how the RAC (Royal Automobile Club) obtained the necessary authorizations to transform this base into a track dedicated to motor sports. Indeed, at that time, the United Kingdom did not really have a dedicated place for the practice of motor sports. The Grand Prix before this era were mostly courses on a public road, closed for the occasion, connecting point A to point B. It is thus that the first layout of Silverstone was born, which hosted a round of the newly created Formula 1 World Championship from 1950 onwards.

Track used alternately with other circuits of the Kingdom, it has become the only circuit used since 1987. The track has undergone numerous changes in order to make it less fast, while still maintaining a strong appeal in terms of driving.

That’s how in 2011 it underwent a major redesign with the creation of a new pit lane as well as a complex of turns inside the circuit. Still fast and technical, it now allows for the use of multiple track configurations depending on the type of race being held. So there are two pit lanes, the one from before 2011 being kept and used when the track layout doesn’t include the new section.

The names of these turns resonate in the minds of all enthusiasts like Stove, Abbey, Priory, Woodcote, but those that have made the legend of this track are certainly Copse for its impressive passing speed and demanding trajectory, as well as the sequence of Maggots, Becketts, Chapel, a sort of elongated S that is also negotiated at very high speeds and conditions the straight line that follows, the Hangar straight.

The track measures 5.891km, so it takes 52 laps to complete the mandatory 305km in a race. The fastest lap recorded in the race goes to Lewis Hamilton in 1min30510sec, with an average speed of over 234km/h.

The Pirelli tire range

In order to avoid repeating the issues that marred (among other things) the 2020 British Grand Prix, Pirelli is bringing its hardest range of tires, namely the C1 in hard compound (white sidewalls), C2 in medium compound (yellow sidewalls), and C3 in soft compound (red sidewalls). The tires will also be specially reinforced for the occasion.

Indeed, on this fast track, the tires are constantly subjected to aggression from the tarmac and the driver. This is due to the numerous long and fast corners that punctuate the circuit, rather than the demands of braking and accelerating.

🇬🇧 #BritishGP preview

⭐️ A new construction debuts
🛞 One of the toughest circuits for tyres pic.twitter.com/Cb2AUvbB1S

— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) July 4, 2023